The e-newsletter of the American Library Association | October 1, 2014

In Practice: High tech, high touch
Meredith Farkas writes: “Many academic libraries have a personal librarian service where students—often in their first year of college—are matched with a specific librarian. In some cases, this librarian emails research tips and information about library resources and services, but in other cases, they are simply a friendly face from whom first-year students can seek help. I particularly like the personal librarian page at the University of Iowa, which makes the library more approachable by including pictures and down-to-earth profiles of the librarians.”...
American Libraries column, Sept./Oct.

AL Live: Self-service software and devices
Mariam Pera writes: “Self-service software and devices were the focal point of the September 18 episode of American Libraries Live. Panelists Karen McPheeters (right), director of the Farmington (N.Mex.) Public Library; Mary Johns, director of the Siouxland Libraries in Sioux Falls, South Dakota; and Matt Bellamy of 3M (which sponsored the episode) answered questions from moderator Dan Freeman, eLearning manager for ALA Editions and ALA TechSource, on how they use self-service technology in their libraries.”...
American Libraries feature

AL school libraries digital supplement
The latest news and trends in school library advocacy are the focus of the latest digital supplement from American Libraries, produced in partnership with AASL. Past and present ALA presidents are among the experts who offer tips on building and retooling advocacy avenues and provide a look at ALA’s efforts on behalf of school librarians and school library issues. Also, Mo Willems and Caroline Kennedy explain why they love school libraries....
American Libraries

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2016 ALA presidential candidates
James LaRue, CEO of LaRue and Associates in Castle Rock, Colorado; Julie Todaro, dean of library services at Austin (Tex.) Community College; JP Porcaro, acquisitions and technological discovery librarian at New Jersey City University in Jersey City; and Joseph Janes, associate professor and chair of the MLIS program at the University of Washington Information School, are candidates for the 2016–2017 ALA presidency. LaRue, Todaro, Porcaro, and Janes will participate in a candidates’ forum on January 31 during the 2015 ALA Midwinter Meeting in Chicago. The slate of candidates for ALA Council has also been announced. Ballot mailing for the 2015 ALA Election will begin on March 24. The election will close on May 1....
AL: The Scoop, Sept. 30; Office of ALA Governance, Sept. 26

Registration, housing open for Midwinter
Registration and housing are now open for the 2015 ALA Midwinter Meeting and Exhibits in Chicago, January 30–February 3. “The conversation starts here” every year at the Midwinter Meeting, which offers the usual gold-standard networking, updates, exhibits, future-focused discussions, innovators, thought leaders, and high-profile speakers....
Conference Services, Oct. 1

Log on to the Digital Inclusion Survey
ALA and the University of Maryland Information Policy and Access Center are continuing to capture information about the vital role public libraries play in supporting digital inclusion. Now in its second year, the Digital Inclusion Survey encompasses all public libraries in the country. It assesses digital infrastructure and services provided by libraries, including in workforce development, health, and e-government. The 2014 survey is now open to all public libraries through November 22....
Office for Research and Statistics, Sept. 24

ALA launches 3D printing policy campaign
ALA has launched “Progress in the Making,” a new educational campaign that will explore the public policy opportunities and challenges of 3D printer adoption by libraries. In the coming months, ALA will release a white paper and a series of tip sheets that will help the library community better understand and adapt to the growth of 3D printers, specifically as the new technology relates to intellectual property law and individual liberties. The first tip sheet (PDF file) is an introduction to 3D printing and libraries....
ALA Washington Office, Sept. 29

What I’m looking for in Emerging Leader candidates
Andromeda Yelton writes: “One of my happier duties as a LITA board member is reviewing Emerging Leader applications to decide whom the division should sponsor. I just finished this year’s round of review this morning, and now that my choices are safely submitted (but fresh on my mind) I can share what I’m looking for, in hopes that it’s useful to any future Emerging Leader candidates as you develop your applications.”...
Andromeda Yelton, Sept. 26

Free “Naming and Framing” webinars
The ALA Center for Civic Life and the David Mathews Center for Civic Life will offer a free webinar series to help librarians lead their communities in dealing with challenging public issues. The series, “Naming and Framing Public Issues,” will be offered in three one-hour sessions on October 14, December 3, and another date TBD. Participation in all three parts is encouraged. Registration is free, but space is limited....
Public Programs Office, Sept. 30

22 chapters selected for facilitator training
ALA President Courtney Young will partner with ALA chapters to provide training for a national cohort of 22 librarians from a cross-section of libraries to become certified Career Development Facilitators. The CDF curriculum provides comprehensive training designed to address several facets of career planning and the job search. The program will commence with two days of intensive face-to-face workshops just prior to the ALA 2015 Midwinter Meeting in Chicago....
Office for Human Resource Development & Recruitment, Sept. 30

The ALA Library turns 90
At the meeting of the ALA Executive Board on September 30, 1924, it was voted to authorize ALA Secretary Carl Milam to employ a librarian. He described in the 1925 report to the membership assembled at the Seattle conference (attendance 1,066 or about 15% of the membership) that the ALA Headquarters received inquiries on such topics as buildings, book selection, establishing libraries, budgets, and publicity on a daily basis....
ALA Library, Sept. 30

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R. L. Stine at the YA Literature Symposium
R.L. Stine (right), author of the Fear Street series, will be the keynote speaker for the general closing session of YALSA’s 2014 Young Adult Literature Symposium. The symposium will be held November 14–16 at the Hyatt Regency Austin with the theme of “Keeping it Real: Finding the True Teen Experience in YA Literature.” Interested participants can register online through October 13....
YALSA, Sept. 26

Apply for a free 3D printer
The MakerLab Club is a brand-new community of thousands of US libraries and museums committed to advancing 3D digital literacy via dedicated equipment, staff training, and increased public access. 3D Systems is donating up to 4,000 new 3D printers to libraries and museums across the country that join the MakerLab Club and provide access to 3D printing and design programs and services for their communities. Libraries can apply for club membership through November 17....
YALSAblog, Sept. 30

ACRL 2015 preconferences
Registration is now available for preconferences to be held prior to the ACRL 2015 Conference, “Creating Sustainable Community,” in Portland, Oregon. ACRL is offering six preconferences on March 25, 2015. Separate registration is required....
ACRL, Sept. 30

Library Materials Price Index
Narda Tafuri writes: “Since its inception in 1959, the Library Materials Price Index (LMPI) has been providing librarians with valuable, reliable sources of data to assist them in the creation and development of library materials budgets. The current index, containing data prepared by members of the LMPI Editorial Board, appears in The Library and Book Trade Almanac under the title: ‘Prices of US and Foreign Published Materials.’ Earlier editions are on the ALCTS website.”...
ALCTS

Literary Landmark for Lynn Riggs rededicated
United for Libraries’ Literary Landmark for Lynn Riggs was rededicated in partnership with Friends of Libraries in Oklahoma on September 5 in Claremore, Oklahoma. Originally dedicated in 2003 and placed at the Claremore Public Library, the Literary Landmark plaque was relocated to the newly renovated Claremore Museum of History/Lynn Riggs Memorial Museum. The museum has a permanent exhibit honoring Riggs, a mixed-blood Cherokee, who was born and raised near Claremore in Territorial Oklahoma....
United for Libraries, Sept. 30

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2014 Bammy Award
AASL member Elissa Malespina (right) was named the 2014 Bammy Award recipient in the school librarian category. Presented by the Academy of Education Arts and Sciences International, the Bammy Award is a cross-discipline award recognizing the contributions of educators. Malespina was presented with her award by AASL Executive Director Sylvia Knight Norton and Deven Black, the 2013 award recipient....
AASL, Sept. 30

Apply for a LIRT award
The Library Instruction Round Table invites nominations for two awards to recognize excellence in information literacy and instruction: the Librarian Recognition Award and the Innovation in Instruction Award. Award winners will receive a $1,000 cash award and a $500 travel stipend to attend the ALA 2015 Annual Conference in San Francisco. Apply by January 15....
Library Instruction Round Table, Oct.1

“Building STEAM with Día” mini-grants
ALSC is now accepting mini-grant applications from libraries interested in developing and implementing a “Building STEAM with Día” program. Intended as an expansion of El día de los niños / El día de los libros, the mini-grants will be awarded to libraries that demonstrate a need to better address the diverse backgrounds within their communities and develop culturally diverse and appropriate STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) programs. Apply by October 17....
ALSC, Sept. 29

2014 Thurber Prize for American Humor
Thurber House has selected debut novelist John Kenney, author of Truth in Advertising (Touchstone, 2013), as the winner of its 2014 Thurber Prize for American Humor. The novel is based on his experience working as an advertising copywriter in New York for 17 years. At a September 30 ceremony in New York City, Kenney received the $5,000 prize and was invited to Thurber House in Columbus, Ohio, as the featured guest at a special event....
Thurber House, Oct. 1

2014 Nebraska Book Awards
An awards presentation ceremony on November 8 will highlight the Nebraska Center for the Book’s Celebration of Nebraska Books in downtown Lincoln. Winners of the 2014 Nebraska Book Awards will be honored and the celebration will include readings by some of the winning authors. The winner in the Fiction category was Stranded by Alex Kava (Doubleday), while the winner for History was The Last Days of the Rainbelt by David J. Wishart (University of Nebraska Press)....
Nebraska Library Commission, Sept. 29

Deanston Scottish Crime Book of the Year
Entry Island by Peter May (Quercus), a thriller set in Canada and on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland, was announced as the winner of the third annual Deanston Scottish Crime Book of the Year Award at an award dinner held in Stirling during the Bloody Scotland crime writing festival on September 20. The judges praised the dual narrative, vivid descriptions, richly layered prose, unflinching emotion, and the interesting central character: “We enjoyed reading him as he rattled about with his demons.”...
Bloody Scotland, Sept. 21

5 under 35 authors honored
National Book Awards Week will begin its annual celebration by honoring the this year’s 5 under 35 authors in Brooklyn at an invitation-only event on November 17. The program honors five young fiction writers selected by past National Book Award winners and finalists. The 2014 honorees are Yelena Akhtiorskaya, Alex Gilvarry, Phil Klay, Valeria Luiselli, and Kirstin Valdez Quade....
National Book Foundation, Sept. 30

2014 Forward Prize for Best Poetry Collection
The winner of the 2014 Forward Prize for Best Poetry Collection is Jamaican poet Kei Miller for The Cartographer Tries to Map a Way to Zion. Miller, who receives £10,000 ($16,215 US), structured his book around a map-maker striving to impose order on an unfamiliar land. Other winners included Liz Berry, who received the Felix Dennis Prize for her debut collection In Black Country, while the Forward Prize for Best Single Poem went to Stephen Santus for his poem “In a Restaurant.”...
The Telegraph (UK), Sept. 30

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Dispute could leave Bexar County with no library
Bexar County, Texas, residents living outside of the San Antonio city limits could lose their library privileges if the county and city can’t come to an agreement on a new contract. For nearly 80 years the city and county have partnered to provide library services to everyone in the county, but that agreement is on shaky ground, thanks in part to Bexar County’s BiblioTech....
KSAT-TV, San Antonio, Tex., Sept. 24

Rural Maine libraries are on borrowed time
Donated books, volunteers, and fundraisers, which have kept many rural libraries in Maine from going out of business, were not enough to save the century-old North Bridgton Public Library (right). This summer, the library board voted to cease operations effective December 31 because it cannot afford to stay open. It joins libraries in Buxton, North Monmouth, and Otis that have closed in recent years....
Portland (Maine) Press Herald, Sept. 28

Tennessee to look at rural public libraries
Two University of Tennessee faculty members have received a $49,557 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to look at the role rural public libraries play in the economic development of the Appalachian region. Associate Professor Bharat Mehra and Assistant Professor Wade Bishop, both of the School of Information Sciences within the College of Communication and Information, will lead the year-long project, which starts in October....
Tennessee Today, Sept. 30

The Fault in Our Stars banned in Riverside
One of the most popular young adult novels of recent times has been banned in Riverside, California. The Riverside Unified School District is restricting John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars from its middle school libraries. The book reconsideration committee voted to remove three copies of the novel from the library shelves of Frank Augustus Miller Middle School and to forbid its inclusion at other middle school libraries in the district....
Los Angeles Times: Jacket Copy, Sept. 29

Library sues ex-director for faking credentials
The Brandon Township (Mich.) Public Library is suing a former director for more than $270,000 in damages for allegedly faking her educational credentials to get her job. The Oakland Circuit Court lawsuit says Paula Jo Crowfoot Gauthier defrauded the library beginning in 2005 when she applied for jobs as assistant director and director of the library. She became director in September 2006....
Detroit News, Sept. 29

Former director pleads guilty to embezzlement
Former Albion (Mich.) District Library Director Karen Kuhn-Clarke pleaded guilty to embezzling money from her former employer. In a September 22 appearance before Calhoun County Circuit Judge Conrad Sindt, Kuhn-Clarke pleaded guilty to one count of embezzling from a nonprofit organization. Officials estimated she had embezzled between $4,000 and $14,000 on a library credit card....
Grand Rapids (Mich.) Press, Sept. 29

Japanese library designs anime mascots for classifying books
While the US has the Dewey Decimal and Library of Congress Classifications, Japan has its own framework, called the Nippon Decimal Classification. But for modern youths, having to look up books by a numeric code feels extremely cumbersome and inefficient. So how do you get young readers excited about using the Nippon Decimal Classification? By anthropomorphizing it into a team of cute anime characters. The Hatsukaichi Municipal Library in Hiroshima Prefecture has created 10 mascots, one for each starting digit of the NDC....
RocketNews24 (Tokyo), Sept. 26

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Copyright Office in the congressional spotlight
Charles Wapner writes: “On September 18, the US House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet held a hearing to gather information about the work of the US Copyright Office and to learn about the challenges it faces in trying to fulfill its many responsibilities. Register of Copyrights Maria Pallante (right) described the Office’s registration system, which went online in 2008, as nothing more than a 20th-century system presented in a 21st-century format.”...
District Dispatch, Sept. 25

Landmark student privacy law enacted
California Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law September 29 a sweeping measure aimed at restricting the use of students’ educational data by third-party vendors, marking one of the most aggressive legislative attempts to date to balance the promise of digital learning technologies with concerns about the privacy and security of children’s sensitive information. The Student Online Personal Information Protection Act prohibits operators of online educational services from selling student data....
Education Week, Sept. 30

New Facebook ad platform tracks you everywhere
Caitlin McGerry writes: “On September 29, Facebook launched a new ad platform called Atlas, which will allow advertisers to track Facebook users across mobile devices, something that cookies cannot do. Are you thoroughly creeped out by the knowledge that Facebook can use both your personal information and your browsing activity to serve you ads all over the internet? There are still a few things you can do to protect your privacy.”...
PC World, Sept. 29

Social media, the new press release
Robinson Meyer writes: “In late September, the New York Times debuted Watching, a live news feed on the news organization’s homepage. The new feature posts updates to developing stories, pictures, and links to live video links. It takes up a large swath of the right side of NYTimes.com, and, as Justin Ellis writes at NiemanLab, it switches up the now-familiar rhythm of the page. What’s emerged from the Times in the past year is a clear decision to use aggregation, curation, and the linky power of digital journalism.”...
The Atlantic, Oct. 1; NiemanLab, Sept. 23

Why academics stink at writing
Steven Pinker writes: “Together with wearing earth tones, driving Priuses, and having a foreign policy, the most conspicuous trait of the American professoriate may be the prose style called academese. No honest professor can deny that there’s something to the stereotype. Why should a profession that trades in words and dedicates itself to the transmission of knowledge so often turn out prose that is turgid, soggy, wooden, bloated, clumsy, obscure, unpleasant to read, and impossible to understand?”...
Chronicle of Higher Education: Chronicle Review, Sept. 26

Why do people who love libraries love libraries?
Brian Mathews writes: “This question has been on my mind a lot lately. Whenever I find patrons who are passionate about their library, I try to decode those tangible and intangible qualities that made the experience so powerful for them. There is something about libraries as places that bring people together in a way that is different from anywhere else on campus.”...
Chronicle of Higher Education: The Ubiquitous Librarian, Sept. 19

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Humanoid robots arrive at Westport Library
They have blinking eyes and an unnerving way of looking quizzically in the direction of whoever is speaking. They walk, dance, and can talk in 19 different languages. About 23 inches tall, the two “NAO Evolution” robots (nicknamed Vincent and Nancy) manufactured by French robotics firm Aldebaran and will teach Westport (Conn.) Library patrons the kind of coding and computer-programming skills required to animate such machines....
Wall Street Journal, Sept. 29

Windows 10 revealed
Mark Hachman writes: “At a press event on September 30, Microsoft launched the next version of Windows: not Windows One, not Windows 9, but Windows 10, which combines the reborn Start menu with Windows 8’s colorful live tiles and adjusts its behavior depending on how you are using your device. Windows 10 will officially launch in the middle of 2015, but you have a chance to try it out before that via a new Windows Insider program.”...
PC World, Sept. 30

Migrating to LibGuides 2.0
Margaret Heller and Will Kent write: “This summer Springshare released LibGuides 2.0, which is a complete revamp of the LibGuides system. Many libraries use LibGuides, either as course/research guides or in some cases as the entire library website, and so this is something that’s been on the mind of many librarians this summer, whichever side of LibGuides they usually see. The process of migrating is not too difficult, but the choices you make in planning the new interface can be challenging.”...
ACRL TechConnect Blog, Sept. 30

The 10 best smartphones
Sascha Segan writes: “Here at PC Magazine, we review every smartphone released on AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless, and many of their sub-brands such as MetroPCS, Boost, and Virgin. These 10 are our top picks across all of the smartphones available in the US today. You’ll find something for everyone here, including screen sizes from 5.7 to 4.7 inches, support for every carrier in America, and each of three major mobile operating systems.”...
PC Magazine, Sept. 26

When everything works like your cellphone
Alexis C. Madrigal and Robinson Meyer write: “When a thing connects to the internet, three things happen: It becomes smart, it becomes hackable, and it’s no longer something you own. ‘Owning’ a phone is much more complex than owning, say, a drain plunger. And if the big tech players building the wearable future (the internet of things, self-driving cars, and anything else that links physical stuff to the network) get their way, our relationship to ownership is about to undergo a wild transformation. We won’t own almost anything the way we own our plungers.”...
The Atlantic, Sept. 28

Google launches Drive for Education
Frederic Lardinois writes: “Students whose school uses Google Apps for Education will soon be able to store as many files in their Google Drive folders as they like. On September 30, Google announced that it is bringing unlimited storage to Google Apps for Education soon with the launch of Drive for Education. Individual files can measure up to 5TB, which should be more than enough for most legitimate-use cases.”...
TechCrunch, Sept. 30; Google for Education, Sept. 30

JSTOR Daily debuts
Academic online library JSTOR has launched an online magazine for the general public, JSTOR Daily. Freely available, the magazine is designed to promote better understanding of today’s most pressing issues through the lens of contemporary and historical scholarship. The magazine will use the rich scholarship on JSTOR as both a source of deeper knowledge and as inspiration....
JSTOR, Oct. 1

The UK legalizes digital backups
A law has come into effect that permits UK citizens to make copies of CDs, MP3s, DVDs, Blu-rays, and ebooks. Consumers are allowed to keep the duplicates on local storage or in the cloud. While it is legal to make backups for personal use, it remains an offense to share the data with friends or family. Making such copies, including ripping CDs to iTunes, had previously qualified as copyright infringement, although cases were rarely prosecuted....
BBC News, Oct. 1

The hidden costs of ebooks for academic libraries
Peter C. Herman writes: “For the past few years, both California State University and University of California libraries have been experimenting with packages that replace paper books with ebooks. The advantages are obvious. But there’s a huge difference between casual and college reading, and recent studies prove beyond doubt that while ebooks are perfectly fine for the latest John Grisham or Fifty Shades of Grey, they actively discourage intense reading and deep learning.”...
Times of San Diego, Calif., Sept. 29

New IMLS funding supports DPLA
The Institute of Museum and Library Services has announced a $999,485 grant to the Digital Public Library of America for a major expansion of its infrastructure. With new funding, DPLA will pursue a major expansion of its service hubs network. The goal is to at least double the number of DPLA service hubs and to use IMLS support to encourage other funders to make DPLA service hubs available to all institutions in every state in the union....
DPLA Blog, Sept. 30

2015 Midwinter Meeting and Exhibits, Chicago, January 30–February 3. Registration and housing are now open.

Goodreads app gets a makeover
Sarah Perez writes: “Goodreads, the social network for book lovers, has at last seen its first major update since Amazon bought the company last March. In September, Goodreads rolled out a significant redesign on iOS (coming soon to Android), something that regular Goodreads users have wanted for some time. When the app is first launched, it immediately displays a news feed filled with your friends’ recent updates on the network, including books they’ve read, rated, and reviewed.”...
TechCrunch, Sept. 25

A smörgåsbord of Scandinavian YA lit
Anna Dalin writes: “Over the past several years, Scandinavian and Scandinavian-influenced culture seems to be popping up everywhere. Recently, the movie Frozen, based in part on 19th-century Danish author Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale The Snow Queen, took over the box office. The 2014 Printz Award and a Printz Honor went to two novels with Scandinavian settings: Midwinterblood by the British writer Marcus Sedgwick and The Kingdom of Little Wounds by American Susann Cokal. Read on for an additional sampling of recent titles....
YALSA The Hub, Sept. 26

We Need Diverse Books: Spotlight on Sara Farizan
Alegria Barclay writes: “In April of this year, the We Need Diverse Books campaign took the YA literary world by storm. The movement encompasses a wide array of authors, librarians, publishers, bloggers, and readers—a group fittingly representative of the diversity they seek to promote. I’ve decided to devote a monthly post to highlight authors and books that truly exemplify the diversity we wish to see. This series kicks off with a spotlight on Sara Farizan, author of If You Could Be Mine (2013).”...
YALSA The Hub, Sept. 29

YA novels inspired by classic literature
Kelly Dickinson writes: “In the world of young adult literature, reimagining familiar stories in contemporary settings or with unique twists has become quite a tradition. A number of new titles remixing classic novels or plays have appeared on the scene in just the past year. As the school year gains momentum and students study such classics, it seems only appropriate that we highlight a few of their young adult lit remixes.”...
YALSA The Hub, Sept. 30

Steampunk for teens
Colleen Seisser writes: “Steampunk is usually defined as a subgenre of science fiction and features a late-19th-century or early-20th-century setting, but with steam-powered and clockwork inventions and machines. Steampunk can also be identified as a subgenre of speculative fiction and is often described as alternate history. Most steampunk novels are set in Victorian England or America, but are also known to be set in the Wild West of America.”...
YALSA The Hub, Sept. 26

Documenting Ferguson
Washington University in St. Louis has launched “Documenting Ferguson,” a digital repository that seeks to preserve and make accessible community- and media-generated original content that was captured and created following the killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown by police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri, on August 9. A freely available resource for students, scholars, teachers, and the greater community, the repository provides diverse perspectives on the events surrounding the conflicts in Ferguson....
Washington University in St. Louis

A look inside the Harvard Depository
Kate Kondayen writes: “The Harvard Depository is a high-density, high-security, off-campus facility that houses a staggering amount of materials from Harvard’s library collections—representing much of human knowledge accrued since the dawn of civilization. This is patron service and stewardship at a massive yet precise scale. The depository holds about 10 million volumes on 30-foot-tall shelves, and industrial lifts are used to retrieve items for patrons.”...
Harvard Gazette, Sept. 29

Full-time reference with part-time librarians
Valery King and Sara Christensen-Lee write: “Many libraries are replacing full-time faculty librarians at reference desks with paraprofessionals, student workers, on-call librarians, or a combination of these. To reduce faculty librarian hours on the desk at Oregon State University, the Valley Library hired a pool of seven part-time reference librarians to assist with desk coverage.”...
RUSQ 54, no. 1 (2014): 34–43

The Creative Experience at St. Louis Public Library
Andrea Johnson writes: “Creative Experience at St. Louis Public Library is a digital maker space for all ages. It is a platform for collaborative digital media creation and publishing. The space inspires ingenuity, encourages artistry, and cultivates expertise. Upon entering Creative Experience, the user is presented with four pods. Each has a Mac Mini with software and hardware that allows users to create, edit, and digitally publish audio, video, photo, print, and interactive content for the web. A Recording Room is also available, as well as a programming area and small reference collection.”...
The Library As Incubator Project, Sept. 29

Fall for a good storytime
Abby Johnson writes: “It is October. Already. Which means you’re probably inundated with requests for fall-themed books and storytimes. I’m here to help. There are tons of resources for Fall Storytime available on the internet, whether you’re a storytime newbie or a seasoned storytimer looking to shake things up a bit. Here are some of my favorites.”...
ALSC Blog, Oct. 1

Webinar: Fighting Ebola with information
ALA is encouraging librarians to participate in “Fighting Ebola and Infectious Diseases with Information: Resources and Search Skills Can Arm Librarians,” a free webinar that will teach participants how to find and share reliable health information. Librarians from the US National Library of Medicine will host the interactive webinar, which takes place on October 14. Some Ebola resources are listed here....
District Dispatch, Sept. 29; Scientific American: Information Culture, Sept. 29

Cataloging a world of languages
Leanne Olson writes: “My university has a mandate to increase our international reach. From the technical services side, this means our catalogers must provide metadata for resources in unfamiliar languages, including some that don’t use the Roman alphabet. I’d like to share a few free tools that our catalogers have found helpful. I’ve used some of these in other areas of librarianship as well, including acquisitions and reference.”...
LITA Blog, Oct. 1

World Languages Networking Group meeting
The next meeting of the World Languages Networking Group will be on October 22 at the Prospect Heights (Ill.) Public Library. It will discuss methods for reaching out to immigrant communities, multicultural and ESL programming, and developing ESL collections. The main speaker at the meeting will be Carmen Patlan of the Waukegan (Ill.) Public Library. For those not in the Chicago area, a Skype connection is available. Contact Aldona Salska....
Illinois Library Association News, Sept. 24

Assisting student military veterans
Alejandro Marquez writes: “The North Dakota State University library is actively seeking to form more diverse relationships with is military veterans. Library services for military veterans provide targeted opportunities for outreach and access to information. However, veterans as a user group are difficult to define as they may have served in Vietnam, during peace time, in the post 9/11 era, or in a number of other distinct situations.”...
ACRLog, Sept. 29

How to get rid of common stains
Richard Byrne writes: “Stain Solutions is a handy website developed by Susan Taylor at the University of Illinois Extension. The site is a database of dozens of common stains and the solutions to remove them. Click on a stain in the chart and you will be taken to a list of the ingredients needed to make a solution that will remove your chosen stain. Directions and warnings are provided along with the solutions.”...
Free Technology for Teachers, Sept. 29

A happy place to work
Workers and students at Texas A&M University’s Evans Library (and branch libraries) in College Station seem to be a happy bunch, judging from this video (4:42). Maybe it’s because they are lip-syncing Pharrell Williams’s catchy tune, “Happy.” Watch when the guy rides the book cart like a trusty steed (at 0:45), and stick around for the credits (at 4:01) to watch the dancers cutting it up....
YouTube, July 30

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